The phrase “this is what it sounds like when doves cry” is a reference to Prince’s 1984 hit song “When Doves Cry,” where he uses the image of doves—symbols of peace and love—crying to represent emotional pain, conflict, and a relationship falling apart. In the song’s chorus, he links fighting and heartbreak to something as wrong and unsettling as a dove, a peaceful creature, being driven to cry, turning inner turmoil and family/romantic dysfunction into a vivid, almost surreal sound-image.

Quick Scoop

  • The line comes from the chorus: “Why do we scream at each other? / This is what it sounds like / When doves cry.”
  • Doves usually symbolize peace, innocence, or spiritual love, so making them “cry” suggests harmony being broken and love turning into hurt.
  • Prince connects his troubled relationship with fears of becoming like his conflicted parents, so the “doves crying” points to both romantic and family pain at once.

Meaning of the Line

  • The “sound” is not literal; it represents the emotional noise of arguments, distance, and unresolved trauma between two people who once loved each other.
  • By choosing doves, Prince intensifies the contrast: if even creatures of peace are crying, then the conflict has reached a heartbreaking, unnatural point.

Music & Mood Around It

  • The song is famously stark, with no bass line, which gives it an eerie, unsettled feeling that matches the idea of doves crying and emotional ground being pulled away.
  • Prince played all the instruments himself, layering sharp guitar, drum machine, and synths to create a tense, haunting atmosphere that mirrors the lyric’s emotional fracture.

In Today’s Cultural Use

  • Online, people often quote or twist “this is what it sounds like when doves cry” as a meme, joke title, or caption—sometimes for pet dove videos or funny posts—because the line is so iconic and dramatic.
  • In more serious commentary, the phrase continues to be used as shorthand for heartbreak, family wounds, or a sudden collapse of peace in relationships or society.
Note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.